#46 margaret river
Trip Start
Apr 2009
1
46
Trip End
Jan 2010
Busselton, Western Australia, Australia
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
15 – 24/11/09
bussleton
Well we have officially lost our mojo, although I think the biggest problem is the weather. It is FREEEEEZING!!!!! We all have our puffy jackets on and are regretting sending our ugg boots home! This kind of weather is really not conducive to getting out and about for us. Not only is it cold, it is wet, and we didn't bother putting up the annex when we set up so everything is either wet, or packed away to avoid getting wet, so we have no seats, no kitchen, and we spend the first 3 days avoiding camp and we mainly eat at MacDonalds…….see ya later tan and flat stomach!!!! NNOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
We eventually get motivated and set-up the annex and gosh it makes a difference. It even motivates us to get out and about. We are camping in Busselton which is a lovely town and quite central for the surf beaches and places of interest around here. The caravan park is lovely, if not ridiculously expensive, and we all enjoy doing not much at all…..again. The kids make friends although unfortunately I think tom has wizened up to the fact that all his friends leave the next day so he is a little less enthusiastic than he has been!
Scott is determined to finally get some serious kite-boarding action, and even a good old-fashioned surf would suffice, however the wether is not kind and it remains cold, windless, and swell-less. Eventualy the sun does come out and Oh. My. Gosh. I cannot believe what a difference it makes to all of us! After 8 months in the heat I wasn’t prepared for a 25degree day and got burnt!!!!! I can’t believe it! I was not getting burnt on 40degree days and a mere few weeks without sun and my skin is now lobster red and no doubt about to peel.
You can’t go to Margaret River without tasting the wine so we drop into a few wineries and the little town itself for a look. The bakery is AWESOME and a few frittatas and breakfast pie later we are on our way. Our favourite estate is Voyager and we love wandering through the stunning gardens. The wine is exquisite and even the kids get in on the act. The owner of the vineyard is a teetotaller so there are non-alcoholic ciders available that they pour for tasting for the kids, wine glasses and all! Our kids were suitably impressed and we all had a ball. After our wine tastings we visit a local attraction, Yallingup Maze, which is a life-size timber maze. Alex is totally unimpressed and uninterested, as is Scott to be honest, however Tom the science obsessed geek is in his element. There is a café adjacent where all puzzle related toys and games are set upon the tables where we all enjoy at least an hour or more escaping from the freezing wether outside. Tom and I return to the maze for another attempt and have a great time whilst Scott and Alex wait in the car! BORING!
Busselton has a great cycle track along the foreshore and our campsite is just 5kms from town so we enjoy a number of rides in for coffees and gelato! We also discover an excellent take-away joint and enjoy way too much fried food on at least two occasions. You really have to ask yourself, why bother spending 8 months being fit and tanned if your going to return home fat and white? !!!!!! I blame the wether. I could never move to Melbourne.
Scott finally gets a decent swell but as luck would have it, it's schoolies week and he has to share it wth 200 painfull grommies!!! My poor little bugger just CANNOT cop a break!!!!!!!
We spend the last 3-4 days of our stay packing up. We have decided that the wether in these southern regions is really about a different type of holiday and one we will take another time. The market for campers is good in Perth so we also decide to ditch the trailer here and travel a bit lighter on the journey home. I means we have to pack up everything that was in the trailer and send it on ahead to Sydney. It is sad to be wrapping everything up, I really can’t believe that the camping part of our holiday is over. I basically compress our life into 6 plastic tubs plus scott-sports-paraphernalia – which takes up the bulk of the space! It is a remarkably freeing experience and dropping our stuff off to the removalists we are all on a bit of a high…..
